Staking strategy

JPool's smart strategy for distributing the stake between participating Validators

The scoring and stake distribution strategy outlined here is currently being implemented. For the implementation timeline, see the Roadmap section.

Adding validators to the Pool

A validator's APY metric represents the performance of the node and its contribution to the functioning of the Solana blockchain; it is also, obviously, one of the most important parameters our delegators are looking at.

JPool adds validators that make it into the Top 300 by APY (10-epoch average). High APY reflects several important metrics, such as the node’s uninterrupted operation, sufficiently powerful server hardware and a strong connection, as well as dedication of the operator running the validator.

Validators are added to JPool as soon as they satisfy the following set of conditions:

• Validator must have been active for at least 10 epochs

• Validator must belong to Top 300 by 10-epoch APY

• Validator may not belong to the Superminority (control 33% of the total stake on Solana)

• It also may not be operated by a person running more than one validator (so-called "Sybil")

• A name, a logo and a website are required

• Nodes flagged with "Suspicious activity with vote accounts" by Validators.app are not accepted

Rules for validator removal and dealing with low performance and suspicious activity are described in the Monitoring and restrictions section.

Stake distribution

Stake pots

The total stake controlled by JPool is organised into so-called "pots", each distributed according to its rules and formulas. Currently, there are 5 pots in the pool:

Pot	Share	Description
Base delegation	30%	Base stake is split evenly between all validators in the pool.
Score-based delegation	30%+	Delegation out of this pot depends on validator's performance.
Community good bonus	up to 20%	Special bonus stake for validators contributing to Solana's ecosystem.
jFactory bonus	up to 10%	Bonus stake for early adopters and beta testers of jFactory projects.
Verified operator bonus	10%	Bonus stake for node operators verified by the JPool team.

Distribution formulas

Base delegation covers all validators in the pool, providing equal amount of stake to each (except delegators tagged Suspicious which receive a 50% penalty).

Score-based delegation uses an elaborate scoring method to determine each validator's performance, described in detail in the Validator scoring section. This pot's total stake is then distributed among these proportionally to their score.

Community good bonus is dedicated to the validators operated by people or teams who also run Solana-based projects, contributing to the ecosystem. See Commmunity Good scoring for details.

jFactory bonus is awarded to node operators supporting jFactory's developent efforts as early adopters and/or beta testers.

Verified operator bonus is an incentive for operators to confirm they are a real person with sufficient knowledge to run a validator. This feature is not available yet.